A literal translation of a text is word-for-word translation from one language to another. It does not consider the sense or thought of the sentence.
For example: Translating from Tagalog to English. Tagalog is the national dialect of the Filipino people.
"Nahuhulog na ako sa iyo" means I'm falling for you.
If a literal translation is done, this would be the result
Nahuhulog = falling
na = (no english equivalent)
ako = me
sa = (no english equivalent)
iyo = you
"falling NA me SA you" is the literal translation. I'm falling for you is the translation of the essence of the message.